Traditional therapeutic ultrasound generation technologies have a number of deficiencies that prohibit their use in portable ultrasound delivery devices. For example, current therapeutic ultrasound generation technologies are, at the smallest, shoebox-sized devices that include a user interface, power generation circuitry, and a separate hand wand transducer attached via a cable. The devices vary in shape and size, but generally are 6-20 pounds. Such devices also require wall power and administer ultrasound energies from 0-4 Watts and at frequencies of from 1-3 MHz. The energy from the transducers of such devices is applied to penetrate into the tissue and administer ultrasound. Traditional ultrasound therapies are for a short duration (e.g., 5-20 minutes) where they are physically applied by hand for the entire treatment period. Other purported therapeutic ultrasound technologies purport to be portable, but are capable of producing only surface low-frequency 90 kHz ultrasound waves.
To date, there is a deficiency in the art for a portable (i.e., wearable) therapeutic ultrasound device that is able to safely deliver low to high frequency ultrasound (i.e., about 10 kHz to about 40 MHz) ultrasound energy deep into tissue. Further, therapeutic ultrasound devices in the art are not able to be used for long periods, due to safety concerns, the non-portable size of the devices or the need for external power sources or the need for the device to be actively applied by the user.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these and other deficiencies in the art.